Friday, July 22, 2005

Rumors! We've got ...well

nothing actually. the rumor mill has gone to sleep. maybe it's just quiet because of the most recent boss changes. or the captains being made. or the merit lieutenant letters being delayed until this monday. or the "hiring freeze" the mayor has put in place in the face of continuing federal pressure. has anyone heard anything about the dick's test? or a class of detectives before they announce the results of the latest test? we are hearing whispers of a class of 48-52 lieutenants shortly and some hints of sergeants following that, but nothing firm. anyone have anything? anyone? Bueller?

Is that why they canceled/delayed the final portion of the Traffic specialist exam? From what I've seen and heard, they almost never show up on the scenes of fatals and end up being called DAYS later trying to reconstuct scenes after victims die at the hospital. Traffic enforcement and accident investigation are sorry lacking in this department.

This unit was decimated by retirements over the last few years, and not being filled in a timely basis. The people brought in really had few examples of how to learn from old timers on the job, like a lot of us learned. You can be taught things from a book, but you generally learn how to apply what you're taught from working with others, and seeing how they do things. Traffic Enforcement is another unit like this, where retirements never came close to keeping up the unit. Remember 2-3 years ago, the rumors had us maybe taking the expressways back, which would have necessitated a major expansion of Traffic. Now, the rumors say that the unit might be eliminated altogether. One of the few revenue generating units in the department, and we might get rid of it. Their staffing levels are so low, they don't have enough people to cover LSD and the Skyway most shifts.